Henrik: A Modern Retelling Of Hamlet
by Lollipop456
Summary: When Henrik, the son of a recent deceased Lord Mayor candidate, discovers that his father was murdered. He decides to feign madness in order to seek revenge on the murderer: his very own uncle. Some names have changed , but others have remained the same.
1. Chapter 1

He stared at the cup of coffee, observing the still, black liquid. Personally, he never cared for the stuff himself, but Claude knew that his brother, Henrik, had been drinking it for twenty solid years; and that was all that mattered.

"Are you having fun?"

Claude turned to Gertrude, his sister-in-law and Henrik's wife. She looked absolutely beautiful in an emerald dress that revealed her, what he believed to be, gorgeous breasts and just a slither of leg.

"I'd thought you'd be onstage with Henrik." Claude said.

"It's too hot up there. I told him not to use too many lights. He ignored me, of course."

Gertrude leaned closer to Claude, slipping her hand just below his belt, her fingertips teasing at his buckle.

"It's a little warm here to. Let's step outside."

"Not right now, Gertrude. I have something that I need to do."

Gertrude looked up at Claude and smiled. "You mean you're going to tell him."

Claude just smiled. "We're going to be together."

Gertrude kissed Claude and touched his cheek before leaving to step outside. Claude listened to the closing of Henrik's speech.

"Copenhagen is the finest city in all of Denmark, and if I'm re-elected as your mayor, I will be certain that our country's capitol is run with a firm and loving hand."

There was scattered applause and cheers from the audience, and the sounds of cameras clicking. From where he stood, Claude could see Henrik standing at the microphone and smiling. The last time he saw him smile like that was when he first became Lord Mayor ten years ago. In fact, he was sure that he hadn't seen him smile like that at his own wedding. Of course, his attention had been on the bride and not the groom.

He hated himself for being jealous of Henrik, and he hated himself for what needed to be done. Then again, he thought, it was all for the greater good. Henrik, in his opinion, had not been a good mayor and was leading the city in the wrong direction. Under his control, Copenhagen could be a utopia; and with Gertrude by his side, he couldn't fail. Their love would be the envy of all couples.

Henrik stepped away from the microphone and walked backstage, with a painful look on his face.

"The trouble with getting old. Everything aches." Henrik said.

"I have your antacid."

Claude handed Henrik a Tums and then his cup of coffee. He watched nervously as he took the pill and then took a few sips of his coffee, watching for a reaction.

"It tastes horrible. Where did you get this coffee?"

"I-it's the same brand. I probably just forgot to add sugar."

Henrik shrugged and downed the rest of the coffee. It didn't take long for him to start perspiring.

"Rick, are you all right?"

Henrik took out his handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. "I'm fine. Just a little warm."

Just like that, Henrik dropped to the floor, his eyes rolling in the back of his head, his body shaking severely. It was when the foam came to his mouth, that Claude knew his brother would soon be gone.

"Help! Help! My brother's having a seizure!"

Soon, a crowd surrounded Claude as he dropped to his knees and took Henrik in his arms, sobbing. Everyone watched in shock, as though a horror movie were unfolding before their eyes. To Claude, it was just a damn good performance.

"It had to be done, Rick. It had to be done." Claude whispered in Henrik's ear.

With a long, exhaling breath, Henrik Skov's life drained away. Claude calmly laid his brother down on the floor, and began to weep openly. All he was thinking, however, was that he had killed his brother and had saved Copenhagen.


	2. Chapter 2

Henrik was glad to be at college. Oh, he loved his parents of course and missed them, but for some reason around campaign season there was tons of arguments. Between him and his parents, between his uncle and his parents, and even just between his parents. It was a relief to be away from all the drama.

After a two hour long Sociology class, Henrik was just glad to have some off-time in his dorm. Well, it wasn't a dorm, but he liked to pretend it was. It was actually an apartment just off of campus; but he liked to pretend it was a dorm, since he wasn't able to study abroad like he planned.

As he laid on the sofa, and clicked on the TV, he skimmed through the channels; finally settling on the news. They were just beginning a new story, and he turned the volume up a little louder as a female broadcaster began to speak.

"Today, as most of Copenhagen knows, was to be a special day. Today, Henrik Pedersen was to make his next to last Lord Mayoral campaign speech with an after-party following. Instead, tragedy struck."

Henrik watched as a crowd of people surrounded a set of paramedics who rolling a body out of a building on a gurney. He, at first, couldn't tell if it was anybody he knew or if the person was even male or female, because the crowd was too big.

"After making his speech, Henrik Pedersen began to seize and died only minutes later in the arms of his brother, Claude Pedersen."

Henrik went numb. Surely, this was a joke. His dad was one of the healthiest people he knew, hardly even had a cold. No, this was all just one big misunderstanding. He would call his dad tonight, and everything would be fine.

Then, the camera got closer and there was a small enough break in the crowd for him to see the face. His father's pale and lifeless face. As tears rolled down his face, he stared at his father.

"Fader...Fader..." Was all he could manage to say.

Of course, the official phone call came an hour later. It was his mom. She was hardly able to speak, the news coming in heaving sobs. He tried to talk to her, to calm her down, but it didn't do any good. Pretty soon, a new voice came over the line.

"Henrik? It's Uncle Claude."

"H-Hi. Is Mama all right?" Henrik asked.

"Oh, she just needed a moment to calm down. So, how are things at good ol' Aalborg? That's a good university, y'know. I attended myself."

Henrik was taken aback How could his uncle even think to be asking about his school life was? After what just happened? He managed to regain his composure, believing that it was the shock and that people grieve in different ways.

"It's fine. Good marks in classes."

"Ah, good. Good. Well, I can't tell you much now. Your mother wants to have the funeral as soon as possible. In a few days, probably. Can you find the time away from your studies?"

"I'm sure that I can for my own father's funeral." Henrik said, his tone laced with sarcasm and disgust.

"Good. Well, your mother and I must be off. Arrangements for the funeral and wedding and all of that."

"What wedding?"

Claude chuckled nervously. "Did I say that? Oh, my mind is here but my tongue isn't. Forget I said that. We'll see you soon then?"

"Yeah."

There was a dial tone and Henrik hung up the phone. What was with his uncle's behavior? Why was he talking about a wedding? Was there something he didn't know about?

All thoughts of his uncle were pushed out of his mind and replaced with images of his father's lifeless body laid out on a gurney. His father was dead and all Henrik was able to do was cry until no more tears would come.


End file.
